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Mikael Baggström and Gary Hiebner

Level Up your Music Career TodayNow is your chance to Discover and Learn all the Essential Steps to Build your Professional Career in Music, so that you can Make Money from your Skills and Experience as a Music Maker and Artist.

Make Money from your Skills and KnowledgeHow much Money would you like to Make from your Music Skills and Knowledge? Whether you are aiming for a Full Time Professional Career in Music, or to Create a Nice Side Income on top of your day job, this Masterclass will help you Advance on Your Journey.

Masterclass Modules:

Read more

Level Up your Music Career TodayNow is your chance to Discover and Learn all the Essential Steps to Build your Professional Career in Music, so that you can Make Money from your Skills and Experience as a Music Maker and Artist.

Make Money from your Skills and KnowledgeHow much Money would you like to Make from your Music Skills and Knowledge? Whether you are aiming for a Full Time Professional Career in Music, or to Create a Nice Side Income on top of your day job, this Masterclass will help you Advance on Your Journey.

Masterclass Modules:

  • Kickstart your Journey to a Professional Music Career
  • Game Music and Audio
  • Music Licensing - Your Music in TV/Film/Games
  • Create your own Brand - For Creatives and Artists
  • YouTube Success - For Music Makers and Artists
  • Designing Audio Logos
  • Teaching your Music Skills - With Screencasting

You will gain from 30 Years of ExperienceThe two instructors of this course (Mikael Baggström and Gary Hiebner) will share from the experience and knowledge they gained from all their years composing and producing music, which in total is well over 30 years. They have also experience in teaching online for 5+ years each. And together they have created this Masterclass to Guide and Help you Advance your Music Career.

Start Today - And Create Your FutureDon't wait for a better time, because time always runs out in the end. Invest in yourself today, and thank yourself tomorrow.

Greetings from your instructors,Mikael Baggström and Gary Hiebner

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Discover all the possible avenues that you can explore to make money from your music
  • Learn how to build your brand, market and promote yourself as a music maker, and grow your authority and fanbase

Syllabus

Kickstart your Journey to a Professional Music Career

Your Complete Guide to Develop your Music Career
This introduction video will present to you, the two instructors of this course, as well as go through the modules of the curriculum to briefly explain what you will learn in the masterclass.

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Hey Friends and Creative People! Do you have big dreams as an artist? What are you waiting for? Go for it!

So you want to become a professional in your creative field? A Music Composer, Producer and Artist with great success, that people admire. Do you want to become truly successful, and develop a professional music career, where you can make money, grow your fanbase, and eventually live your dream?

How are you going to succeed as a music composer, producer and artist? How are you going to fulfill your dreams, and how are you going to finally reach your endgame for your professional music career journey.

Now it's time to evaluate which is going to be your main direction for your music career. Your path to success. You need to choose the road for your journey.

Alright, now let’s talk about the most important thing in any professional career. Actually making money. I’m sure you would like to get a list of ways to make money from your skills and knowledge in music.

Your Energy, Motivation, and Positive Mindset are worth incredibly much. In this video I'm going to give my tips on avoiding negativity to protect yourself from getting dragged down. And instead find sources of positive energy that will push you forward on your creative journey, your dream.

To get a professional career in any field you need to develop your skills and knowledge. Go from beginner, to intermediate, to an advanced...and finally a professional. But what skills are most important for your future professional career in music?

It is very important to get a good perspective over your professional journey as you move forward. We tend to forget things easily, including our own achievements. That is why I have created a milestone tracker. And you are going to get it as a bonus in this course.

Here's a newsflash for you. If you want a professional career in music as a composer, song writer, or any kind of music maker...you actually need to build up a product portfolio, and it's not only music.

Imagine if you owned several assets that all worked for you to help you advance your professional career as a music composer? Wouldn’t that be amazing? 

Professional business connections. It is not only important, it is crucial for any career. That's why I save all connections I get in a special document, so I have their names, field of expertise and where they work, as well as their contact information...all in one place. And that's what you should do too. I have even set it all up for you in your special bonus which you will get later in this course.

I make a difference between business connections, and people that are more like colleagues in your field. Meaning they do similar things that you do. It can for example be a fellow music composer, producer, or basically any person within the music industry that share the same kind of talent or asset that you have.

In this video you are going to learn something that 99% of music artists forget, or even neglect to design and produce. Your own professional brand.

Track your Music Career Journey
For Music Makers and Artists to learn ho to get into the Game Music Industry

What is game music and why is it an exciting field? This will be covered in this lesson. I will go over how music is used in games, and how the ever changing nature of this industry makes it a really interesting field to work in

In this lesson I will go through the different types of game people you'll meet at a Game Studio, plus the music and audio roles that exist in the gaming industry.

One of the roles is a Game Music Composer. In this lesson I will go through what type of work a game music composer will do, and how you can excel at it.

You could also look at being a Game Sound Designer. In this lesson I will show you what type of work a Game Sound Designer will get involved in, plus giving you some working examples of types of sounds you will create.

You could also look at work with game audio dialogue and voice overs. Imagine all the types of character voices you hear in games. And you could be a creator of these. In this lesson I'll take you through what type of steps you can go through to perfect game dialogue and voice overs.

A vital part of working with game producers is being a part of the team. In this lesson I will go through the attributes you'll need to be a perfect team player in the game industry

Finally I'll get you to take some action steps in building up your own Game Audio/Music Portfolio, that you can shop around to potential Gaming Studios.

To learn how to musician can take advantage of music licensing services

In this lesson Gary's gives a brief introduction into what Music Licenisng is and how you as a music maker can take advantage of this avenue

This lesson with go through some of the common terminology used the Music Licensing field.

The Audio Jungle Stock Library platform will be explored to show a resource you can use to showcase and sell your music.

Gary's explains the different types of music you can submit to Audio Jungle

Now Gary will explain how to get your song ready to upload to audio Jungle by showing how to embed watermarks into your songs

Tags and Keywords are key in your songs being more successful on audio Jungle. This lesson explains how to use them and some best practices with them.

If you want to use another platform then it's still important to add tags and keywords to your songs. In this lesson Gary shows how you can tag your tracks with iTunes and on Soundcloud.

In this lesson Gary shows you how you can use other platforms like your social media platforms to promote your music.

If you don't want to go the stock library platform route, then you can source and contact music libraries direct. Gary gives you some advice on the best way to do this.

Now it's your turns to take some action steps and build up your music portfolio either to upload to stock library platforms or to send to music libraries.

Learn all essential steps to develop your own professional brand, as well as your personal brand, as a creative and artist.

What is Branding? It's essentially everything people can recognize and remember you by. Let me explain to you what branding really, and why you need to create your own branding profile.

Designing your own branding profile is not an easy task. And Since it is critical that your brand looks, and feels, professional to your audience, I would advice you to outsource some of the graphical design work, like the logotype for example. Perhaps you have a friend who is good at design. However, if you do have design skills and think you can create most parts of your branding yourself, I'm now going to share my top tips and tools for designing your brand.

Now, before you start designing all the visual elements of your brand, and then continue to design images and graphics for your products, marketing etc, you need to get good design tools first. And I want to share my top list of design tools with you in this video, and you can of course pick and choose whichever tools you like, and that suits your personal workflow.

The main purpose of your brand, is to be a unique avatar for people to remember, so that they recognize your brand and your products, every time they see, hear, or read, any content you made with your brand. Now, take note on this…“Before you Design your Brand, you need to Define your Brand”…And in this video, I’m going to teach you the action steps I recommend, to define your own brand.

So you have your Brand Definition ready, right? The Brand tags that you will use as a foundation for your complete Branding Profile, and all design work and communication you will do in the future. Well, now let’s talk about your brand name.

The first visual part of your brand you should design, is your color theme. Why? Because it will set the tone and foundation for basically every visual element you create.

The logotype of your brand is the single most important visual element you need to create. Because it will represent your brand everywhere.

Branding is not only your visual appearance. Many companies also have complete sound design profiles, and the most important element of a sound that you can incorporate in your branding, is your audio logo.

Now it’s time to communicate what you do, who you do it for, and why…in one single sentence. Your brand slogan.

It’s time to create one profile picture to rule them all. It’s time to create your avatar.

This lecture is about the visual aspect of text. And by this I mean fonts. There are thousands of fonts you can use, and each one looks and feels a certain way.

Now it’s time for my favorite type of branding. It’s also the one that will have the biggest impact on your audience if you truly go all in. Personal Branding.

Learn my Top Strategies, Methods and Tips to Create a Successful YouTube Channel

Why is YouTube so super important to focus on for building your fanbase as a music maker and artist? Well, in this video I am going to share my top 10 reasons why YouTube is my number one platform for building my audience. I hope these insights will help you decide to take action and make YouTube a high priority in your success journey as a music maker and artist.

Now, it's time to kickstart your YouTube Channel. And you should start by creating your own YouTube Master Plan. There's so much you can do, but I will make it easier for you by sharing the 7 main things I recommend you to focus on first, when you create your master plan and overall strategy for your YouTube Channel.

YouTube is about you. Your story, your journey, your life and experiences. That is one of the key points you should focus on if you are truly determined to become successful on YouTube.

One of the best strategies I have found for gaining more views and subscribers, is riding waves.

What do I mean by riding waves? Well, I am talking about sudden peaks in search on YouTube. If you act fast, you can ride the full cycle of that wave.

Now I am going to share the absolute best way in my experience to boost your YouTube Channel as a Music Maker and Artist.

Here's how you can turbo charge your Music Channel on YouTube. Make Covers of popular songs.

A great way to add quality and value to the audience of your youtube channel as a music maker and artist, is to make music videos.

YouTube Collaborations. It's one of the super chargers for boosting your subscribers and views. So how does it work?

How can you get people to link to your YouTube Channel so that you can get more subscribers and fans of your music? Share your music for free.

In this video I am going to teach you the essentials of how the YouTube Algorithm really works, and how you can use this knowledge to your advantage.

SEO stands for, "Search Engine Optimization". And it is basically everything you add to your video publishing process in an effort to boost your rank in the search results. I am now going to give you a list of the things I have personally found most important for SEO on YouTube.

Whether you are a small, medium or big YouTuber...Keyword Research is key. But if you don't have that many subscribers, it is even more important.

So what is keyword research? Basically, it's trying to find out what people actually search for within your niche.

In this video I will share my complete 21 step quick guide to succeed on YouTube, based on my personal experience, as well as studying YouTube Experts, Big YouTube Channels, YouTube Analytics and so on. I want to really ignite your energy, empower you with knowledge as fast as possible, and boost your motivation. This is my YouTube Success Guide.

Learn how to sound design audio logos to animation visual logos

In this lesson I give a brief explanation of audio logos and how they help your brand.

We take a quick look at the audio logo we'll be designing to give you, the student, an idea on the scope of this course and what we're aiming to create.

In this lesson we cover what you'll need from a software side to complete this course. This includes the Digital Audio Workstation, software synths, and sound effects that can help in the design process.

If you don't have an animated logo to work with, I show you how you can easily create an animated logo using a simple video editor software to get you off the ground with audio logos. If you already have an animated visual logo you can skip this step.

This lesson takes a look at how to add a movie into a DAW so that you can sync your audio to it. Adding a movie into your DAW will help you sync the audio with the logo.

This lesson takes a closer look at creating markers in your project as guides for scene changes and sound design elements like impact hits and fade outs. These are key points for creating interest in your audio logos.

Finding the right tempo for your project can change an audio logos feeling and mood. In this lesson I show you how to line up a marker in your movie onto a bar change, plus we look at how editing the tempo changes how the logo plays out.

In this lesson you learn how to make an impact hit sound by taking a regular drum kick sound and processing it with an EQ, and reverb.

This sub hit is taken further in this lesson with some extra processing to really help give it some impact. I export out the previous hit sound, add some extra EQ processing and compressor to enhance the sub hit sound.

In this lesson we take a look at how you can create your own unique whoosh sound effects by taking a white noise sample and editing and processing it. I use a synth with a white noise oscillator, and then export this out to an audio track and add extra processing to it.

In this lesson I show you how you can use sound effects to further enhance your audio. For example, using explosion sounds to give sub hits more impact. These sound effects layered with the sub hit, really help hype up the audio logo.

In this lesson we take a look at how you can reverse sounds, and then use these reversed sounds to help create a build up to the hit sections. For example a reverse sound building up to the hit.

This lesson takes you through how to add some extra sparkle to your logo in the higher registers. Things like chimes, crash swell, and harp run samples work really well in this area.

This lesson covers adding some color to your audio logo with chords or chord progression. I will show how to use pad sounds playing chords to give the logo a tonal flavour.

This lesson takes tonal coloring further by adding in some extra instruments to create a layered up wall of sound. By layering up different pads you can get a complex chord sound.

This lesson covers how sequenced parts can help add a pulse and movement to your audio logo. I will explore some patches that have sequencer parts in them so you can hear how this gives the logo some movement.

In this video I show you how to make some mix adjustments, plus how to add some mastering processing on your main output. This will get your audio ready for the final export.

We'll export out your audio from your DAW, and look at how to embed it with the video. I will demonstrate how to embed the audio to the video within the DAW, plus how to do it with a video player, like Quicktime.

Teaching your Music Skills - With Screencasting

Gary explains how you can use your music skills to produce screencast tutorial videos. It can be another extra source of income for you as a music maker.

This lesson goes through the screencasting software options you can look at using.

Gary takes you through the best possible microphones you can use in your screencasting setup, and best way to record your voice with the microphone.

Gary gives a live demo on how to record a video with the screencast software.

In this lesson Gary gives some editing tips and tricks on how to make your tutorial videos more engaging.

Gary takes it a step further with this lesson, and gives some extra tips and tricks to give your music tutorial to top notch quality.

Gary shares his audio tips and tricks in this lesson on how to get the best audio edit from your voice over.

In this lesson a look is taken at the best export settings to use that can be used across multiple online platforms.

In this lesson you will take action steps at creating your first screencast music tutorial.

Final Module
Mike's Final Words

In this lesson Gary mentions the bonus gifts that you get for getting to the end of the masterclass.

Congratulations

Good to know

Know what's good
, what to watch for
, and possible dealbreakers
Explores game music and audio, which is a growing field offering opportunities for composers and sound designers
Covers music licensing, which allows musicians to earn revenue by placing their music in TV, film, and games
Teaches how to create audio logos, which is a valuable skill for branding and marketing in the digital age
Includes a module on YouTube success, which is a crucial platform for musicians to build their fanbase and promote their work
Instructs learners on teaching music skills with screencasting, which can be a source of income for musicians
Requires learners to build a product portfolio, which may take time and effort to assemble

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Music Career Masterclass with these activities:
Review Music Theory Fundamentals
Strengthen your understanding of music theory to better grasp advanced concepts covered in the course.
Browse courses on Music Theory
Show steps
  • Review basic music notation and terminology.
  • Practice identifying intervals and chords.
  • Analyze simple song structures.
Read 'All You Need To Know About The Music Business'
Gain a deeper understanding of the music business landscape to make informed career decisions.
Show steps
  • Read the book cover to cover.
  • Take notes on key concepts and terms.
  • Reflect on how the information applies to your career goals.
Create a Professional Portfolio Website
Showcase your skills and experience to potential clients and employers.
Show steps
  • Choose a domain name and hosting provider.
  • Select a website template or design your own.
  • Add samples of your music and audio work.
  • Write a compelling biography and artist statement.
  • Include contact information and social media links.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Read 'The Mixing Engineer's Handbook'
Improve your audio engineering skills to enhance the quality of your music productions.
Show steps
  • Read the book and experiment with the techniques described.
  • Analyze the mixes of your favorite songs and try to replicate them.
  • Practice mixing your own music and get feedback from others.
Produce a Short Music Tutorial Video
Practice your teaching skills and build your online presence.
Show steps
  • Choose a topic related to your musical expertise.
  • Write a script and create visual aids.
  • Record your video and edit it for clarity and engagement.
  • Upload your video to YouTube and promote it on social media.
Attend Music Industry Networking Events
Connect with other musicians, producers, and industry professionals.
Show steps
  • Research local music industry events.
  • Prepare a short introduction about yourself and your work.
  • Bring business cards or digital contact information.
  • Follow up with new contacts after the event.
Design an Audio Logo
Apply the audio logo design principles learned in the course to create a unique sonic identity.
Show steps
  • Brainstorm ideas and sketch out potential designs.
  • Select sounds and instruments that reflect your brand.
  • Compose a short melody or sound sequence.
  • Mix and master your audio logo for optimal impact.

Career center

Learners who complete Music Career Masterclass will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
YouTube Content Creator
A YouTube Content Creator produces videos for the platform, building an audience and generating revenue through ad revenue, sponsorships, and merchandise. The Music Career Masterclass is useful for a content creator who may be focused on music content, since it has a specific section on YouTube, discussing strategies for channel growth, content creation, and audience engagement. The course can help a content creator grow their channel, develop a successful content strategy, and learn how to leverage the platform for maximum impact, especially if that content is related to music.
Music Licensing Specialist
Music Licensing Specialists manage the legal rights to musical works, securing permissions for use in various forms of media. The Music Career Masterclass is directly relevant to this role due to its module on music licensing, which covers how musicians can take advantage of licensing services. The course also provides a general overview of ways to monetize music, which is a key aspect of this position. Taking this course will help someone interested in music licensing to gain insights into the business side of music, and how to navigate the licensing process from the perspective of a music creator.
Audio Branding Consultant
An Audio Branding Consultant specializes in creating sonic identities for brands, using sounds, music, and audio logos to evoke emotions and create a memorable brand experience. The Music Career Masterclass is useful for someone in this role because of its lessons on audio logo design. It also discusses general branding, marketing, and promotion, which are necessary for a consultant looking to secure clients and grow their business. This course may be a good fit for someone interested in consulting, especially because it also touches on the business and entrepreneurial aspects of a music career.
Game Audio Designer
A Game Audio Designer specializes in creating all audio aspects of video games, including music, sound effects, and dialogue. This role is about creating an immersive and engaging audio experience for players. The Music Career Masterclass is useful for a game audio designer due to its specific section on game music and audio, which covers various aspects of game audio roles, composition, and sound design. It also discusses portfolio building, which is important for showcasing game audio work. This course may help one who wishes to enter this career field by providing practical advice on navigating the game audio industry, creating a portfolio and connecting with potential clients.
Sound Designer
Sound Designers create the audio elements of a project, including sound effects, ambiences, and other auditory elements for various media including games, film, and interactive experiences. The Music Career Masterclass is helpful because it goes into detail about game audio and sound design specifically, but also about creating audio logos and sound branding. The course also includes sections on career building, branding, and promotion, which are important for a sound designer looking to market their skills. This can help a sound designer learn the ropes of the industry, and expand career opportunities and build a network.
Music Producer
A Music Producer oversees the creation of a musical recording, guiding artists and musicians to realize their creative vision. This role involves everything from sound design and mixing to licensing and promotion. The Music Career Masterclass may be useful as it covers a wide array of topics relevant to a producer's career, including music licensing, branding, and strategies for online promotion through platforms like YouTube. It also delves into creating audio logos, a skill that could be useful for production work. The course helps build a foundation for a producer to manage their career, expand their client base and develop their own brand.
Composer
A Composer creates original music for various applications such as film, games, or advertising. The Music Career Masterclass may be useful for a composer as it covers crucial aspects of building a career in music, including music licensing for TV, film, and games. It also discusses branding and self-promotion, which are essential for composers seeking to market their work. Additionally, this course explores the creation of audio logos, valuable for a composer working in advertising and other media. This course can help a composer broaden their skill set, learn effective marketing strategies, and maximize income opportunities.
Music Marketing Manager
Music Marketing Managers develop and implement marketing strategies for musicians, record labels, or music-related products, which includes digital and traditional approaches. The Music Career Masterclass may be useful because it covers many aspects of self-promotion and outreach for musicians, including branding, YouTube strategies, and ways to monetize music, and these skills apply to marketing more broadly. This course may help those in this career by providing an understanding of the methods for building a fanbase and a viable career in music from the ground up.
Social Media Manager
A Social Media Manager handles the online presence of a brand, artist, or company, creating engaging content, and increasing audience following. The Music Career Masterclass may be useful as it covers YouTube strategies as well as general self-promotion and branding, which are fundamental to managing social media accounts. This course may be useful for those in this career path as it can help them learn how to build a brand, grow an audience, and manage an online presence, especially for musical artists and brands related to music.
Music Educator
A Music Educator teaches music theory, performance, or other music-related topics in schools, colleges, or private lessons. The Music Career Masterclass may be useful for a music educator because it dedicates a module to teaching music skills through screencasting, a useful skill when creating online learning materials and online classes. The course can help a music educator learn new methods of teaching and expand their reach through online channels. This course is especially useful for those who want to expand beyond in-person teaching.
Artist Manager
An Artist Manager oversees the career of a musician, handling business and creative aspects of their work. The Music Career Masterclass may be useful for an artist manager, as it helps to introduce business and promotional skills, brand building, and online content creation. This course can help one who wishes to enter this career field by giving them a comprehensive view of the music business, and insights into marketing and promotion that will be useful for the artists in their charge.
Content Marketing Specialist
A Content Marketing Specialist focuses on creating valuable and engaging content to attract and retain an audience for a brand or company. The Music Career Masterclass may be useful for those in this role, as it provides insights into content creation, especially in the context of music, as it discusses music licensing, audio logo creation, branding, and YouTube strategies. This course can help someone in content marketing learn to create engaging media that will draw in and hold an audience, especially for musical brands and artists.
Audio Engineer
An Audio Engineer is technically skilled in recording, mixing, and mastering audio. They ensure high quality sound for music, film, television, and other media. The Music Career Masterclass may be useful as it covers aspects of the music industry that go beyond just mixing and recording, including licensing music for film and television, and creating audio logos, which may be part of a project a sound engineer takes on. Furthermore, the course delves into various ways to promote your music, which is an important skill for any audio engineer looking to create a successful career and attract clients.
Multimedia Producer
Multimedia Producers create content across different media formats, including video, audio, and interactive media. The Music Career Masterclass may be helpful to a multimedia producer due to its coverage of audio production, audio logo design, and video content creation, specifically through screencasting. This course may help build a foundation in audio and video production for multimedia producers, especially in creating engaging content that includes music and sound design. This course could also help someone gain a better understanding of the music industry itself.
Brand Manager
Brand Managers are responsible for developing and maintaining a brand's image and identity. The Music Career Masterclass may be useful to a brand manager, as it contains a module specifically dedicated to brand building and recognition, which includes designing visual and audial elements. This course can help a brand manager understand the importance of a consistent and recognizable brand identity, and learn about ways to create a strong brand presence. This also includes insights into sound design and branding, useful in shaping the identity and communication of a brand across channels.

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Music Career Masterclass.
Comprehensive guide to the legal and business aspects of the music industry. It covers topics such as contracts, royalties, copyright, and publishing. It valuable resource for anyone pursuing a career in music, providing essential knowledge for navigating the complexities of the industry. This book is commonly used as a textbook at academic institutions and by industry professionals.
This handbook provides practical advice and techniques for mixing music. It covers topics such as EQ, compression, reverb, and panning. It useful reference for improving your mixing skills and achieving a professional sound. is commonly used by both aspiring and experienced mixing engineers.

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